Acts 1

Acts 1:1:The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,Acts 1:2:Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:Acts 1:3:To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:

Many are they that will disregard the Jewish Bible today, our Old Testament, but the truth of the matter is that our LORD taught His disciples from this book and what we see in the New Testament is the method of application to our lives we are to use. Jesus was so serious about this that He returned, after He was in His Glorified Body to teach for forty more days. And while commands go against the grain of the natural man, it is the desire of the people, children, of God to obey.

Acts 1:4:And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.Acts 1:5:For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

When we see a thing emphasized in the Word of God, by it being repeated, we need to pay attention. In verse 4 we see ¨commanded,¨ giving emphasis to commandments in verse 2. There is a lot to meditate on in these verses and worthy of note is the fact that they, God´s Children, were gathered together. (Heb. 10:25) Also worth noting is the truth that the Child of God is baptized with the Holy Spirit because Jesus has returned to Heaven.

Acts 1:6:When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?Acts 1:7:And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

When we become so smart as to begin to tell God what to do, we are in serious trouble. There an entire Universe full of things we cannot know and then comes the Spiritual Realm of which, if we are smart, we must learn. More importantly though, we must learn to be still and to know that God is! (Psa. 46:10) When we can accept this we find true peace.

Acts 1:8:But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judæa, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.Acts 1:9:And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

In verse 8 we see the Great Commission repeated, our duty to our LORD. So it is recorded that the last thing Jesus wanted for us to remember was our ¨duty¨ to Him, and then He ascended.

Acts 1:10:And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;Acts 1:11:Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.Acts 1:12:Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey.Acts 1:13:And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.

Heaven is our home, as the saved, but, just as verses 10 and 11 illustrate, we need to be about the business of God and not be standing about, lolly-gagging. Because we have faith, we are given the Comforter and because He indwells us we can rest assured that our Savior is returning. Here, again, we see the unity of the Believer in verses 10 through 13. Always unity!

Acts 1:14:These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.Acts 1:15:And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,)Acts 1:16:Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus.Acts 1:17:For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry.Acts 1:18:Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.Acts 1:19:And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood.

Judas, like many of our friends today, has come to no good end, being led of Satan, and if we are not obedient, as was our Example, unto the death, many more will be lost and it will be our fault by not speaking up. The thirty pieces of silver counted for naught to Judas as will our lives if we fail God!

Acts 1:20:For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take.Acts 1:21:Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,Acts 1:22:Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.

In verse 20 we find an unusual word for us today but the phrase is simple, ¨and his bishoprick another take,¨ is, ¨and his office another take. (Psalm 109:8) There was always to be twelve Apostles and from the beginning of the Earth´s creation, the twelfth was to be Paul, known at this time, in the scriptures as Saul.

And in verse 22 we come to this matter of being ordained. In some ¨churches,¨ today, ordination can be purchased or earned with certain favors, this is not of God and what is of men does not matter in the Heavenly Realm. If a man is not called, ordained, of God, the title is without meaning!

Acts 1:23:And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.Acts 1:24:And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,Acts 1:25:That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.Acts 1:26:And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

Many, today, will say and have said that the eleven failed to wait for God in this matter. I do not feel that I can justify myself to say that but this does lend itself to the truth of Psalm 46:10, that we must, always, wait for God! Always remember, God knows everything we have done, as well as everything we will ever do. So it is that Matthias fell, either in His Perfect Will or in His Permissive Will! Nothing we can ever do will surprise God, the Father!